question regarding money

I read on TA that the resorts have gone to a "No Cash" policy, that everything is charged to your room. Which is fine for us, that is what we always do anyway, but I was just wondering if this was true.

No, don't exchange. A lot of places give change in Jamaican as well, so if you pay in USD, they may give you Jamaican Dollars back.

This is a reason why you need to make sure you have small USD bills with you as well. If you buy that nice knickknack for $5 and all you have is a $20, you're liable to get the equivalent of $15USD back as Jamaican dollars. Maybe you can use it, maybe you can't; just be aware of it.

Do a lot of places take travelers checks? I usually travel with them instead of cash because they can be replaced if lost.

We used to travel with travlers checks and found them to just be a giant pain in the butt. We take cash and credit cards now and have never had a problem when keeping them in your room safe. You should always have trip insurance when traveling out of the country so that would cover any loses.

I would guess that it would be easiest to have everything charged to your room, although with an AI there will be very little to charge to your room. The only thing on the resort that I can think of you needing cash for would be tipping the Spa staff (which to my understanding cannot be charged to the room). You can use cash at the gift shops, but those purchases can also be charged to the room or to a credit card. I haven't done the excursions, so I don't know how those are paid for, but would guess credit cards would be preferred.

Amy,

I would not suggest travelers checks because there are many local vendors who cannot accept them. I would stick with bringing a small amount of cash ($200 or less, personally) in small bills and a credit card.

I read on TA that the resorts have gone to a "No Cash" policy, that everything is charged to your room. Which is fine for us, that is what we always do anyway, but I was just wondering if this was true.

Anyone know?

We stayed at CSS 7/26 to 8/1. We did the trading spaces to CTI one day. My husband forgot his hat, so we went to the gift shop to get one. We had cash with us (no credit card), but the shop said they couldn't accept it. They wanted to charge to our room, but we weren't staying at their resort. Long story short, we had to go to the main desk, where people were checking in and out, and wait for 45 minutes to pay for an $8.50 hat! My husband also got quite a jolt when they wrote the receipt for $700+, but then realized that was Jamaican dollars, not US. When we went back to CSS we were able to pay cash in the gift shop. I don't know if it's a CTI thing or what, but luckily we were in no hurry on the day we were there!

Just one piece of advice if you plan to use your debit or credit card in Jamaica...make sure to contact your bank ahead of time so that they won't get suspicious when all of these charges appear on your card from Jamaica!

That is an EXCELLENT point!... I have plenty of other people's horror stories (even after being warned) about being "cut off" by their CC Co. in the middle of a business trip or vacation. Call ahead and let them know!

We stayed at CSS 7/26 to 8/1. We did the trading spaces to CTI one day. My husband forgot his hat, so we went to the gift shop to get one. We had cash with us (no credit card), but the shop said they couldn't accept it. They wanted to charge to our room, but we weren't staying at their resort. Long story short, we had to go to the main desk, where people were checking in and out, and wait for 45 minutes to pay for an $8.50 hat! My husband also got quite a jolt when they wrote the receipt for $700+, but then realized that was Jamaican dollars, not US. When we went back to CSS we were able to pay cash in the gift shop. I don't know if it's a CTI thing or what, but luckily we were in no hurry on the day we were there!

lessons learned ... measure twice saw once ..... before leaving insure all head gear is in proper location thus resulting in a net savings of 45 minutes since you were in the lobby for a extended period of time what was your opinion the new couch?